ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE THROUGH USE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTABRIA

A new teaching experience was initiated at the University of Cantabria in the academic year 2006-07. It incorporates English language in the teaching of subjects in Economics and Business at the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies. An initiative of the Pro Vice-Chancellery for International Relations at the University of Cantabria, the new Diploma in European Business and Economics was conceived with the following objectives: to internationalise students’ curriculum, to strengthen academic exchange opportunities for both teaching staff and students, and to reflect new educational trends resulting from the Bologna Declaration.
The project is based on collaborative effort between different bodies within the University: teaching staff, students, academic and administrative management. This initiative has been the first academic experience in the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies that fully includes English language in both lectures and tutorials, as well as in teaching materials, evaluation and assessment. With the course load of 30 ECTS, the program is available for both the students and the academic staff of the University of Cantabria, as well as exchange students and visiting academics from partner universities from Europe and Australia. The curriculum of this Diploma is not limited only to Economics and Business study areas but also includes subjects in Law, History and Humanities.
We have had very positive feedback in the three years since the implementation of this Diploma. It has strengthened the student exchange scheme by involving students from different nationalities and facilitating interaction with Spanish students, which in turn has allowed both groups to better develop their language skills in English and Spanish. The increased mobility of teaching staff has been beneficial for a University with limited opportunities to cooperate with large teaching and research groups in Europe, especially in the area of Business, due to its size and structure. The success of this Diploma led to the gradual implementation of a Diploma in Advanced Applied Technologies for Industry at the School of Industrial Engineering and Telecommunications, of a Diploma in Experimental Physics at the Faculty of Sciences, and of English Civil Engineering Fundamentals Program at the School of Civil Engineering.